Finance in a digital world: It’s crunch time for CFOs

A series on digital transformation in Finance

When you say the word reporting, binders full of spreadsheets, charts, and footnotes might come to mind. Or maybe conference rooms with executives grinding through slide presentations. And behind it all, there’s an army of Finance people who’ve been working for weeks to pull it all together.
In the best of all worlds, external financial reporting and internal management reporting would be intelligent, interactive, and real time. This guide describes how digital tools like automation, advanced analytics, and machine learning are making reporting faster, more insightful, and less costly – and the lessons learned along the way.

Crunch time VII: Reporting in a digital world

Imagine a future where executives no longer rely on binders of static data to inform their decisions, and where reporting – both external and internal – is intelligent, interactive, and real-time. This guide looks at how companies are using today’s digital tools to upgrade their reporting processes to get better information distributed faster – and at a substantially lower cost.

Crunch time VI: Forecasting in a digital world

Organizations are shifting to forecasting processes that involve people working symbiotically with data-fueled, predictive algorithms. It’s all made possible by new technologies— advanced analytics platforms, in-memory computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including machine learning.

Today, these technologies in the hands of expert forecasting talent give companies the ability to discover things they’ve always wanted to know—as well as things they didn’t know they didn’t know—with more confidence and speed.

Crunch time V: Finance 2025

Whether it’s phone apps, home automation, or cashless commerce, digital disruption is the new normal for consumers today. It’s changing what we do – and how we get things done – in countless ways.

What does this have to do with the future of Finance? Everything.

The technologies needed to reimagine Finance are here and will only get better. Plus, we can learn a lot from other business functions. Modern factories give us a glimpse of what automation can deliver. Smart contracts show us new ways of tracking assets. The lessons are out there, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can focus instead on adapting and adopting.

Crunch time IV: Blockchain for Finance – what CFOs need to know

Ten minutes into a discussion with a group of blockchain professionals, one CFO shook his head. “This is ridiculously ambiguous,” he complained. And it didn’t take long for others to agree. In response, we set out to demystify blockchain for CFOs, focusing on how finance organizations can apply blockchains to streamline processes, improve controls, and transform finance operations.

Blockchain for Finance is a practical guide for finance organizations that want to understand options for blockchain and make effective decisions about moving forward. It features more than a dozen Frequently Asked Questions finance teams can use to make sense of blockchain technology, as well as a high-level roadmap for adoption. It also includes a seven-point checklist for CFOs who are thinking about embarking on the blockchain journey.

Digital tools for CFOs

Some of the new digital tools available to finance focus specifically on updating core systems and existing capabilities. Other tools, "exponentials", are designed to deliver new and different capabilities. Together, they form a toolset finance can use to improve its own performance and serve the business more effectively, especially when they are used together.

Our research suggest that seven technologies have growing interaction and relevance for how the work of finance get done:

Cloud
Cloud is a kind of computing that uses scalable, elastic technology to deliver services over the internet. Instead making large investments up front, finance can get the full stack of finance functionality “as-a-service,” delivered through public, private, or hybrid clouds.

Process robotics
Process robotics automates transaction processing and communication across multiple technology systems. Robots perform recurring processes just like humans, but with less risk of errors and fatigue.

Visualization
Visualization refers to the innovative use of images and interactive technology to explore large, high-density data sets. Visualization suites complement business intelligence and analytics platforms, offering rich graphics, interactivity, and usability on par with leading consumer experiences.

Advanced analytics
Analytics has long been part of the finance arsenal, but new techniques are helping business people tackle the crunchy questions with insightful answers. Often that means combing through big data to see patterns that suggest future opportunities.

In-memory computingIn-memory computing refers to storing data in main memory to get faster response times. And because the data is compressed, storage requirements are reduced. The result? Speed and access to quantities of data that were previously unimaginable.

Blockchain
Blockchain is a digital distributed ledger, where transactions are verified and securely stored on a network of distributed and connected nodes, without a governing central authority.

Talent essentials for digital transformation

The growth of digital business is already reshaping the talent marketplace, far beyond finance. As organizations seek to upgrade their workforces in all areas, they are placing a premium on people with relationship and analytical skills, who can also understand the business. Talent essentials for digital transformation includes:

Leadership: A sharp view into the future and a clear roadmap for getting there

Culture: Less predictability, more experimentation and innovation

New skills: Technology savviness combined with business understanding

Engagement: An opportunity to learn, grow, and innovate for digital natives or Millennials

“Digital transformation is fundamentally human-centric because it’s about imagining new ways of value creation. For that to happen, people have to be digital enablers as well as users of new digital capabilities.”

Framing the future

Which path makes sense for you? What kind of roadmap will you need to realize the benefits of digital transformation? In the end, organizations will need to chart their own courses. But no matter which future you envision, the leaders will likely be those who figure out how to make digital work for finance—and for the whole business, too.

“Not having a roadmap would be really dangerous these days because the pace of transformation is speeding up in every industry. Be on the lookout for quick wins and use them to validate your direction.”

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Equity Partner

Kim is an equity partner in Deloitte. He is responsible for a number of large Deloitte accounts as lead client service partner or lead finance partner. Kim advises Finance functions and CFOs on financ... Mere